Spinal stenosis is a disease involving narrowing of the spinal canal leading to compression of the spinal cord and/or nerve roots. Depending on the location and severity of the spinal stenosis, this condition may lead to neurologic dysfunction including weakness, numbness, balance problems, problems walking, loss of coordination and loss of hand function. In particular, spinal stenosis of the cervical region is a common cause of major neurologic dysfunction resulting from compression of the spinal cord.
Traditional treatments for spinal stenosis involve surgical decompression of the spinal cord from either an anterior, posterior or combined surgical approach. Due to the invasive nature of these operations, the risks and benefits of surgery for spinal stenosis must be carefully weighed by patients and physicians considering this form of intervention. A laminectomy is the most common type of surgery employed for multilevel spinal stenosis and this operation may produce major bleeding, scarring, muscle damage and/or spinal instability in some patients undergoing this type of surgery. Although minimally invasive options have been devised for many spinal conditions, no well accepted minimally invasive options have yet been described for the treatment of spinal stenosis affecting the cervical or thoracic area. For all these reasons, there is a strong need for a novel technique to treat spinal stenosis in a less invasive fashion, sparing the normal anatomic structures and lessening the risks of spinal surgery.